Vanilla Tart by Utopie

There are moments when the world as it is seems unbearable, when we hit the wall of reality and stop in front of the barriers which rise ahead. Sometimes we feel chained, we give up on ideas which had previously guided our steps, we forsake certain paths… Yet in the end, this lucidity is a gift for utopians who – confronted with reality – search for, build, and escape into a new paradise. We believe that, far from hardening us and making us shrivel up, life’s challenges make us more optimistic. And we firmly believe in utopias. Perhaps we share this conviction with this eponymous bakery and pastry shop, whose specialty – a white Vanilla Tart – we audition today.

This dessert is composed of a sweet short crust pastry filled with a cream flavored with vanilla from Uganda, topped with a mousse made with vanilla from Madagascar. The mousse is covered with a white icing and decorated with a round shortbread cookie, made with the same dough as the crust base.

The Vanilla Tart by Utopie has a diameter of 75 mm and a height of 30 mm. The specimen we purchased weights 114 grams and costs 3.80€.

The tart smells of butter and vanilla. The very glossy icing on the surface turns out to be very jelly-like and thick. While it tastes of vanilla, we also detect in it another parasite flavor, reminiscent of liquorish.

Underneath the icing, the mousse is airy despite being overall rigid. It detaches itself in a single bloc from the surface, yet melts on the tongue with no trace of heaviness. The roundness of the Madagascar vanilla flavor is long on the finish, and we are pleased to see the abundance of vanilla seeds incorporated in the mousse.

The cream fills the entire crust. Flavored with vanilla from Uganda, it has a stronger aroma than the mousse, tinged with slightly smoky notes. It is unctuous and melts in our mouth, thus creating a gradual textural transition towards the short crust base. The latter is isolated from the cream by a fine layer of white chocolate, which allows it to remain dry and crisp. It contains a generous quantity of butter, and is baked homogenously throughout.

VERDICT

The Vanilla Tart by Utopie was made for vanilla lovers, as it truly showcases this single flavor. The exercise of distinguishing between the two types of vanilla – Madagascar and Uganda – is interesting, and one which will undoubtedly appeal to connoisseurs and make for lively discussions around this tart. Beyond that, however, we note that this dessert integrates various textures which are introduced gradually, and that great care has been given to its assemblage and presentation. We only regret the excessively thick icing, which would benefit from being thinned, to subdue its flavor which clashes somewhat with the rest of the dessert. Nevertheless, overall, it is difficult to resist the scrumptious appeal of this dessert.